In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
If there is only one thing certain about life, it is that it ends. What lies beyond death?
At the physiological level, the journey that the deceased takes is plain for all to witness. If left alone to natural causes, the heart will stop beating, the lungs will stop breathing, and the body’s cells will be starved of blood and oxygen. The termination of blood flow to the outer extremities will soon turn them pale. With the oxygen cut off, cells will respire anaerobically for a time, producing the lactic acid which causes rigor mortis – the stiffening of the corpse’s muscles. Then, as the cells begin to decompose, the stiffness wanes, the tongue protrudes, the temperature drops, the skin discolors, the flesh rots, and the parasites have their feast - until all that is left is dried-out tooth and bone.
As for the journey of the soul after death, then this is not something that can be witnessed, nor can it be gauged through scientific inquiry. Even in a living body, the conscious, or soul of a person cannot be subjected to empirical experimentation. It is simply beyond human control. In this regard, the concept of a Hereafter - a life beyond death, resurrection, and a Day of Reckoning; not to mention the existence of a Divine, Omnipotent Creator, His angels, destiny, and so on - comes under the subject of Belief in the Unseen. The only way in which humans can come to know anything of the unseen world is through Divine revelation.
وَعِندَهُۥ مَفَاتِحُ ٱلْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْلَمُهَآ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ ۚ وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلَّا يَعْلَمُهَا وَلَا حَبَّةٍ فِى ظُلُمَـٰتِ ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا رَطْبٍ وَلَا يَابِسٍ إِلَّا فِى كِتَـٰبٍ مُّبِينٍ ﴿٥٩[Qur'an, Al-An'am 6:59]
And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it. And no grain is there within the darkness of the earth and no moist or dry [thing] but that it is [written] in a clear record. (59)
It is only through the Divine final revelation to humanity, the Qur'an, as revealed to His final Prophet, Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace) that we learn most about the afterlife. And as the Qur'an is, and will forever remain, preserved and uncorrupted by human hands, the insight it gives us into the world of the unseen is, for the believer, as factual, real and true as anything that can be learned through any scientific endeavor (and with a zero margin of error).
وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا طَـٰٓئِرٍۢ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلَّآ أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُم ۚ مَّا فَرَّطْنَا فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ مِن شَىْءٍ ۚ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يُحْشَرُونَ ﴿٣٨[Qur'an, Al-An'am 6:38]
And there is no creature on [or within] the earth or bird that flies with its wings except [that they are] communities like you. We have not neglected in the Register a thing. Then unto their Lord they will be gathered. (38)
Why are we here? If there is indeed no greater purpose to life (that is, greater than simply living life itself), the question of what happens after death becomes academic, if not pointless. It is only if one first accepts that our intelligent design, our creation, necessitates an intelligence and designer behind it, a Creator who will judge us for what we do, that life on earth carries any significant meaning.
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ مِن سُلَـٰلَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ ﴿١٢﴾ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَـٰهُ نُطْفَةً فِى قَرَارٍۢ مَّكِينٍ ﴿١٣﴾ ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا ٱلنُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا ٱلْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا ٱلْمُضْغَةَ عِظَـٰمًا فَكَسَوْنَا ٱلْعِظَـٰمَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَـٰهُ خَلْقًا ءَاخَرَ ۚ فَتَبَارَكَ ٱللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ ٱلْخَـٰلِقِينَ ﴿١٤﴾ ثُمَّ إِنَّكُم بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ لَمَيِّتُونَ ﴿١٥﴾ ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ تُبْعَثُونَ ﴿١٦[Qur'an, Al-Mu'minun 23:12-16]
And certainly did We create man from an extract of clay. (12) Then We placed him as a sperm-drop in a firm lodging. (13) Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh; then We developed him into another creation. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators. (14) Then indeed, after that you are to die. (15) Then indeed you, on the Day of Resurrection, will be resurrected. (16)
أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَـٰكُمْ عَبَثًا وَأَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا تُرْجَعُونَ ﴿١١٥﴾ فَتَعَـٰلَى ٱللَّهُ ٱلْمَلِكُ ٱلْحَقُّ ۖ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ رَبُّ ٱلْعَرْشِ ٱلْكَرِيمِ ﴿١١٦[Qur'an, Al-Mu'minun 23:115-116)
Then did you think that We created you uselessly and that to Us you would not be returned?" (115) So exalted is Allah, the Sovereign, the Truth; there is no deity except Him, Lord of the Noble Throne. (116)
A discerning person would be forced to conclude that life on earth is full of injustice, cruelty and oppression; that the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, is what is paramount; that if one cannot find happiness in this life, whether due to an absence of material comforts, physical love, or other joyous experiences, then life is simply not worth living. In fact, it is precisely because a person despairs of this worldly life while having little, no, or imperfect faith in an afterlife, that they may commit suicide. After all, what else do the unhappy, unloved and unwanted; the dejected, (desperately) depressed and despairing have to lose?
قَالَ وَمَن يَقْنَطُ مِن رَّحْمَةِ رَبِّهِۦٓ إِلَّا ٱلضَّآلُّونَ ﴿٥٦[Qur'an, Al-Hijr 15:56]
He said, "And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord except for those astray?" (56)
So can we accept that our death is limited to mere physiological termination, or that life is merely a product of blind, selfish evolution? Of course not. There is more to death, and so to life, than this.
The Grave World
The revelation the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) had received and then communicated to us from His Lord is as unambiguous in its description of the afterlife as it comprehensive.
When the believer is about to depart from this world and go forward into the Next World, angels with faces as bright as the sun descend from the heavens and sit around him in throngs stretching as far as the eye can see. Then the Angel of Death comes and sits at his head and says, “Good soul, come out to forgiveness and pleasure from Allah!”
The believer will look forward to meeting his Creator, as the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) explained:
"... when the time of the death of a believer approaches, he receives the good news of Allah’s pleasure with him and His blessings upon him, and so at that time nothing is dearer to him than what lies ahead of him. He therefore loves meeting Allah, and Allah loves meeting him." (Bukhari)
Then his soul emerges like a drop of water flows from a water-skin and the angel takes hold of it. When he has grasped it, the other angels do not leave it in his hand even for the twinkling of an eye. They take it and place it in a perfumed shroud and a fragrance issues from it like the sweetest scent of musk found on the face on the earth.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوا۟ رَبُّنَا ٱللَّهُ ثُمَّ ٱسْتَقَـٰمُوا۟ تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ أَلَّا تَخَافُوا۟ وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا۟ وَأَبْشِرُوا۟ بِٱلْجَنَّةِ ٱلَّتِى كُنتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ ﴿٣٠﴾ نَحْنُ أَوْلِيَآؤُكُمْ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَفِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ ۖ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِىٓ أَنفُسُكُمْ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَدَّعُونَ ﴿٣١﴾ نُزُلًا مِّنْ غَفُورٍۢ رَّحِيمٍ ﴿٣٢[Qur'an 41:30-32]
Indeed, those who have said, "Our Lord is Allah " and then remained on a right course - the angels will descend upon them, [saying], "Do not fear and do not grieve but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised. (30) We [angels] were your allies in worldly life and [are so] in the Hereafter. And you will have therein whatever your souls desire, and you will have therein whatever you request [or wish] (31) As accommodation from a [Lord who is] Forgiving and Merciful." (32)
Then they bear it upwards and whenever they take it past a company of angels, they ask,”Who is this good soul?” and the angels with the soul reply, “So-and-so the son of so-and-so,” using the best names by which people used to call him in this world. They bring him to the lowest heaven and ask for the gate to be opened for him. It is opened for him and angels who are near Allah from each of the heavens accompany him to the subsequent heaven until he reaches to the heaven where Allah the Great is. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says, ’Register the book of My slave in ‘Illiyun and take him back to earth. I created them from it and I return them to it and I will bring them forth from it again.”
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا عِلِّيُّونَ ﴿١٩﴾ كِتَـٰبٌ مَّرْقُومٌ ﴿٢٠﴾ يَشْهَدُهُ ٱلْمُقَرَّبُونَ ﴿٢١﴾ إِنَّ ٱلْأَبْرَارَ لَفِى نَعِيمٍ ﴿٢٢[Qur'an, Al-Mutaffifin 83:18-22]
No! Indeed, the record of the righteous is in 'illiyyun. (18) And what can make you know what is 'illiyyun? (19) It is [their destination recorded in] a register inscribed (20) Which is witnessed by those brought near [to Allah]. (21) Indeed, the righteous will be in pleasure (22)
The believing soul is then returned to his body and two angels visit the soul to ask it about its religion, God, and prophet. The believing soul sits upright in its grave as Allah grants it the strength to answer the angels with full faith and certainty.
Angels (Munkar and Nakeer): "What is your religion?"
Believing soul: "Islam."
Angels: "Who is your Lord?"
Believing soul: "Allah."
Angels: "Who is your Prophet?" (or "What do you say about this man?")
Believing soul: "Muhammad."
Angels: "How did you come to know these things?"
Believing soul: "I read the Book of Allah (i.e. the Qur'an) and I believed."
Then, when the soul passes the test, a Voice from on high declares:
"My slave has spoken the truth, supply him with furnishings from Paradise, clothe him from Paradise, and open a gate for him to Paradise." Then some of its fragrance and perfume comes to him, his grave is expanded for him as far as the eye can see, and a person with beautiful garments and a fragrant scent comes to him and says, “Rejoice in what delights you for this is the day which you were promised.” He asks, “Who are you? Yours is a face which presages good.” He replies, “I am your good actions.” Then he (the soul) says, “O Lord, let the Last Hour come soon so that I may rejoin my family and my property”
The believing soul is shown what would have been his abode in Hell - had he been a wicked sinner - before a portal is opened for him every morning and evening showing him his actual home in Paradise. Excited and full of joyful anticipation, the believer will keep asking: ‘When will the Hour (of Resurrection) come?! When will the Hour come?!’ until he is told to calm down.
May Allah make roomy and spacious, filled with light, the graves of our loved ones and all the believers that have gone before us. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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